


Rise and Fall

by GalaxyAqua



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Friendship, High School, M/M, Slow Build, So Much Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-04
Updated: 2015-04-04
Packaged: 2018-03-21 00:36:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3670929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyAqua/pseuds/GalaxyAqua
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Souda has a lot of problems, Sonia wants her friend to (leave her alone) be happy and Owari Akane knows more than she's letting on about Gundam Tanaka. 'Maybe', Sonia thinks, as Mioda makes nonsensical whale noises from the seat beside her, 'this calls for a plan.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rise and Fall

**Author's Note:**

> whaaaaaaat

"Are you sure you're not just in some form of denial?" There's an exasperated sigh on the other end of the line, and Souda can practically see Sonia rolling her eyes at him.

He had rung up his friend (a long, painful, cringeworthy story lay behind how he managed to befriend the beautiful blonde girl, but he'd rather not dwell on that for now because he was angry and she wasn't helping) in hopes that she'd be able to side with him on this one, but as usual, Sonia is barely interested.

His point is made clearer when he hears the hiss of a teapot in the background, and Sonia's careful treading around the kitchen - she was more interested in cooking than talking to him, for gods’ sake. "Maybe you just got off on the wrong foot." she says idly, tinkering with some cups. "Or, could you be envious, possibly?"

Souda knows he doesn’t have it in him to be mad at Sonia for anything, so though he flares up, the rage channels to the very person he’s complaining to her about - a stupid guy in their stupid class with a stupid obsession with animals - who pisses him off to no end.

They had argued heatedly on the first day of school, and practically every morning after that - though their arguments ceased soon after Sonia Nevermind had sent them to more detentions than he cared to count - and, if it could get any worse, he swore the boy had ruined his every success by actively seeking to one-up him in everything, humiliating him to the point that everyone simply expected him to fail at whatever he did. 

His sworn enemy was always there when he was ready to burst into tears, and he would bet that the other guy laughed at him with his friends, if the constant glances in his direction were any indication. Something about him also seemed glaringly familiar, but if it was because he reminded him of bullies from the past, he couldn't say. He was always paranoid around the other boy, and if people in general made him uncomfortable, the effect this guy had tripled tenfold. 

Yet he couldn't tell any of this to Sonia, because she wouldn't be able to understand. So he'd settle for just saying he hated him.

Truly, honestly hated him.

Moreover, Souda is pretty sure the feeling is mutual.

Regardless, he can’t even understand what Gundam Tanaka is saying half the time and it drives him up the wall trying to figure him out (hence, he doesn't try). 

“If anyone is in denial,” he starts to yell into the receiver, threading a hand through his hair and knocking his beanie off in the process, “It’s him over every freaking thing! He always talks about this and that and he has his stupid hair and weird eyes and the way he looks at people like they’ve done something wrong, like _damn_ that overconfident asshat! As if I would be jealous of ... of someone like that! There’s only so much of this guy I can take, and I’m telling you I hate him - will always hate him - and I know he hates me too!”

A brief pause follows, before Sonia replies. “... so why is it that you despise him so much again?”

 _Sonia, I can’t believe you._ He complains internally, but answers the question, all the more happy to list out their classmate's (apparently) obvious faults. Maybe he's being a brat, but maybe Tanaka deserves it. Maybe it just makes him feel better, before his mind can betray him and tell her what she doesn't need to know. “Because, I told ya, he has stupid hair and weird eyes and he’s -”

“Now, listen!” Sonia cuts him off, her tone suddenly harsh. “I do not mind that you do not like him, but to be judging someone so shallowly... you should be ashamed!”

“But-”

“I won’t stand for this,” she continues, and he hears her taking a sip of tea, still as elegant as ever as she reprimands him. Souda thinks she may be taking this a little too seriously, as hypocritical as it sounds, but her next statement has him reeling, clutching the phone tighter: “I want you to try making friends with him.”

 _Oh hell no, not in a million years, not even if you offered to marry a rocket ship_ , he growls internally, only just biting back the words so Sonia won’t immediately hang up. _  
_

“Well?” She asks, after a moment of waiting for his reply. Her voice is less sharp, but the determination is clear. “You will try and befriend him, won’t you?”

"Sonia," he murmurs weakly, dragging out the 'a' and trying his best not to snap at her. "You know how I am... with, with friendships, and stuff... and he's not er, exactly high in my books, y'know. Kinda hate him and everything..."

"You're making excuses." Sonia tells him, and he hears her momentarily distracted by someone talking in the background. When she returns, she seems more hurried than usual. "Oh, Souda, listen. He's not going to hurt you. You'd be surprised, if you got to know him properly. At least give him a chance, if not for you then for me."

He feels betrayed. “Are you kidding me? There’s no way I could be friends with that guy! Not even for you!”

“Must you be such a child?” Souda hears her down the rest of her tea in one gulp, immediately after the question leaves her mouth. He’s almost scared that he’s hit a nerve this time, but Sonia’s composure doesn’t falter, “If you won’t agree to at least try, I’m going to have to speak to him directly.”

“W-what?! No, it’s fine! He’s happy hating me! Just leave it...!”

“Now, I’ve helped you find a solution to your problem so I’m going to hang up now. Any final questions? Queries?”

“Don’t do it, dammit, Sonia...!”

Nevermind, Sonia hangs up anyway.

* * *

Despite being so determined to get Souda off her back, Sonia really does want her friend to be happy. She knows there's something he's not telling her about why he hates their classmate so much, but she believes if it's Souda, it probably isn't that big of a deal. If everything works out, perhaps she won’t have to deal with so much of him on a regular basis too, which is all the motivation she needs to put her plan into action.

She is perfectly content, with clear intentions to converse with Gundam Tanaka tomorrow morning when the chance arises - he is a nice respectable person, despite what Souda says - but for the time being, she also has a guest to take care of.

“Akane,” she places the phone and her teacup down on the table, addressing her visitor. “I see you’ve helped yourself.”

Akane Owari laughs between a mouthful of cookie and tea, brushing locks of coffee-colored hair out of her face, and at least swallowing her food before she speaks. “Sorry, but ya make such awesome food and I was gettin’ kinda bored just sittin’ here listenin’ to you deal with Souda and his mancrush.”

“Thank you,” Sonia blinks as she answers politely out of habit, and, in the middle of reaching for a biscuit herself, she halts in place. She remembers reading something like this - without having heard a word such as ‘mancrush’ before - but she can’t quite think where. It is immediately intriguing. “Oh my, Owari, could you be implying...?”

“I dunno.” Owari grins, stuffing her cheeks wide with marshmallows, “Switch a couple of words around, and you’ve got oil-for-brains asking ya how to confess his undying love to the ham man. Easy peasy!”

“That would be stretching it,” the blonde giggles daintily behind her hand, accepting a good-natured high-five from the bubbly brunette, “though the mental image is highly amusing.”

It would not do well for her to overthink this conversation while she is speaking to Tanaka later, she muses, but somehow ends up the very next day doing just that.

“... and on what grounds does such a bizarre request lie?” Tanaka is asking her in that deep voice of his, returning Sonia to reality with the thoughts of _two dumb boys in love_ swimming in her head. She makes a mental note to ask Ibuki in their class if this is what she meant when she burst into the classroom last week muttering about a ‘fujoshi underclassman’. For now, she turns her apologetic attention back to the matters at hand.

“I only wish to ask that you get along with him,” she tells the taller, frowning male. Feigning deep trouble, she hopes the concern in her face is enough to win him over. “I do not mean to interfere, but I fear he will never learn to live with others at this rate.”

“Ah, that cannot be helped,” he takes on an imploring countenance, heterochromatic eyes narrowing, before his expression suddenly relaxes, seeming to come to a conclusion. His left arm, bandaged to the elbow, rests against the wall of the classroom as he peers out the window in a slow, cinematic manner. “The mortal realm tends to lend itself to seclusion and flawed judgement when misunderstood - perhaps, if not by a curse of darkness, then by an error of the past."

Sonia is about to ask what he means by this, when he recommences, becoming animated with a wave of his hand and an exaggerated flick of his scarf, "It is no matter! As you have sought my divine assistance, I shall see to it that your unmanageable companion be put out of his pathetic human misery!"

"Of course," she chuckles kindheartedly in the midst of her confusion - ' _that counted as a yes, right...?'_ - as Tanaka moves to make a dramatic exit. To her surprise, and to others nearby, he walks into the door frame in the process of leaving, bowing as if he meant to, and promptly darts out the door. "Put out of his misery...?"

She doesn't have time to mull over his words when she is almost bowled over by a force from behind - a greeting exhibited by none other than Ibuki Mioda; their class' self-proclaimed rockstar, and in all essences the highlight of everyone's day. Ibuki simply exuded an aura of excitability and positive energy, and Sonia lets the contagious happiness quickly overtake her alarm.

"Hellooo Princess!" Ibuki exclaims, the nickname rushing out as she lets Sonia go and plops down in front of her, on the blonde's desk. "What's cookin' with you and Tanaka? Is this an - ooh, no, no, don't tell me - forbidden contract?! Demonic ritual!? Does he need your blood as a sacrifice?"

"None of the above," Sonia answers, smiling sweetly at the girl despite the ruckus she is stirring before class. "And good morning, Ibuki."

"Awww, you don't have to hide it from me! Ibuki can keep a secret!" She rolls from Sonia's desk to the one beside it, expertly bridging the gap with practiced ease. "But say, really, what's goin' on? Is he trying to pull something?"

"Why do you ask?" Sonia lets herself frown, not thinking even someone like Ibuki would suspect Tanaka of wrongdoing. Her concerns, however, are quickly abolished by the reaction of the other girl.

"Nothing, really! Nothing at all!" Ibuki seems all too quick to pick up on the other girl's change of mood, perking up comically and waving her hands about. "S'just, uh, ahm, nothing! He didn't tell Ibuki anything! Wow, weird, right? And here Ibuki's thinking she's Tanaka-chan's number one biggest bestest friend in the whole wide world, and he didn't tell her anything about a big, big, humongous heart-pounding revelation he made on the weekeeeeeee-"

Her ramble stops when a tan hand clasps around her cheeks, allowing Ibuki to resemble a fish. Knowing this, the rockstar promptly shuts her mouth and waves her hands as if she is swimming. Akane, who had shut her up, sends Sonia an easygoing grin. 

"G'mornin," she greets both of them, moving Ibuki's fish impersonation to place the flailing girl in her chair. 

"Revelation?" Sonia questions, and she is met by two dumb looks. Akane shoots a not-so-subtle glance at the door, and Ibuki fiddles with her rings. She captures their attention with a soft cough.

"What're ya talkin' about, Princess?" Snapping back, Akane laughs, almost too loudly, "Wow, you must be hearing things, right Mioda?"

"Yep, yes, uh huh, absolutely! Ibuki has noooo idea what you could possibly mean by that..." Ibuki adds, nodding with Akane, and Sonia rolls her eyes at how obvious they're both being.

"Please," she commences, peering at them innocently, "I do not mean to pry. However..."

In the corner of her eye, she spots Tanaka re-entering the classroom, seeming to have realized that he had to actually attend class. That, or the fact that he is being pushed by a livid hall monitor who was determined he maintain a 'perfect attendance record' and all but dropped him into position, could pass as the reasons, but unfortunately became bad timing. Ibuki shoots up, shouting some excuse that she's going to wish him a merry christmas, and Akane flies back to her seat behind Sonia, waving over at Tanaka and whispering to Sonia;

"Can't tell you, m'fraid. Not now, anyway." 

Sonia lets it go. "If you would tell me sometime soon, it would be much appreciated."

"The time will come," Akane grins, "just like the time when I find out what the caf is selling for lunch today."

The blonde laughs, shaking her head. "Of course, of course. Priorities."

"You betcha."

Then the curious conversation is forgotten, and something akin to worry creeps up on Sonia after her first class is over and done with. Though it tires her, sometimes to the point of annoyance, Souda had made a habit out of seeking her between classes to walk her to wherever she needed to go (she hoped he didn't think it meant anything, for she had had much trouble rejecting him in middle school), and for the first time in a while she doesn't see him. She waits for a few minutes, books held close to her chest, but shrugs it off as nothing,  _maybe he's with a teacher_ , and proceeds to her next class.

The rest of the day plays out in much the same way.

As the final school bell rings, Sonia makes a phone call, because despite how much Souda protests that he isn't a nerd; she knows he wouldn't miss out on school for anything.

"Hello? Who's calling?"

The girl blinks slowly, the voice on the other side being familiar, but definitely not who she had been expecting. From their last encounter, she remembers not ever wanting to meet with the man again. A cold feeling envelops her, and she shuffles the books in her locker distractedly.

"Hello sir," she says, voice even. 

"Ah, Miss Nevermind. My son can't come to the phone right now, my deepest apologies." A chuckle. "If you have any class notes and homework to give him, feel free to come over later, if you'd like. We're busy, so if that's all, I'm going to go now-"

"Sir," Sonia speaks up carefully, "Has something happened?" 

"Nothing at all. Kazuichi will be back at school by Wednesday, if you could pass that on, that would be great."

"Sir - "

"Have a good day, Miss Nevermind."

"Sir, did - "

The dial tone rings, noisy in her ears even among the sounds of the crowded hallway (in which she now feels that the conversation was entirely inappropriate) and she jumps, startled, when a hand lands on her shoulder.

"You okay?" The voice of Akane asks, and Sonia briefly notes that the brunette is somehow appearing more and more in her life.

She ignores this thought, shuffling her books one last time in alphabetical order, as her mind switches in favor of something more important. "I would like to think so. Do not worry, I am perfectly fine."

"So I haven't seen the soda-pop today, and I was wonderin' if ya knew anything..."

She stops.

Akane sighs, turning her around by the shoulders. "What happened, Sonia?"

"Nothing happened. I am over-thinking, surely."

"Kay then, what do ya  _think_ happened?"

"It is not important, do not fret."

"I'm not. I'm askin' you a question."

"And I am telling you, it is not important."

"Do I have to beat someone up?"

Sonia's expression hardens. "That would not be necessary. Souda is perfectly alright, and so am I."

"Alright, fine, whatever," Akane shrugs, though her features remain somewhat tight. "I won't ask anymore."

"... I am sorry. It is most unbecoming of me to speak to you like that."

"Nah, it's fine. I shouldn't 'ave been so pushy."

"It is not your fault. I am not in the greatest of temperaments, truly..."

"Was it his father?" A quiet voice suddenly suggests from somewhere nearby, and Sonia feels her hands clench into fists as she whirls around to face the source, her head pounding from the quick movement. Tanaka is on top of the lockers, with crossed arms and legs, something unreadable in his expression. 

She has so many things she wants to say and ask and deny, so many things she feel she could explode, but all she does is nod.

"Yo, what the hell?" Akane ushers the student off the lockers, glad for a distraction, and tugs him down by his scarf, shooting Sonia one last look of concern as she drags the boy down the hallway and around a corner.

He doesn't fight back or make any attempt to escape, even when they both trip over a white-haired male with a broom, who spouts excited apologies at a mile a minute. Akane has to punch him to get him to quiet down. The boy only sends echoing, unsettling laughter through the crowd, seemingly happy for the attention.

Sonia barely notices, staring into her well-sorted locker and willing her doubts away.

_He's not hurt. Nothing has happened. We got over this three years ago. This is a coincidence. I'll see him on Wednesday, and nothing will have changed._

When she leaves school that day, there is a sinking feeling in her chest.


End file.
